Saturday Open Thread: Black Firsts, Inventors and Scientists

This week’s open threads have focused on the lesser known inventors and scientists in the black community.

Meredith Gourdine

Dr. Meredith Gourdine was born in Newark New Jersey on September 26, 1929, and grew up in the streets of Harlem and Brooklyn. Meredith Gourdine attended Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, and received a Ph.D. in Engineering Science from the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena.

Meredith Gourdine pioneered the research of electrogasdynamics. Electrogasdynamics is a way to disperse fog and smoke. By applying strong electrical forces to either you can control those elements. He was responsible for the engineering technique termed Incineraid for aiding in the removal of smoke from buildings. His work on gas dispersion developed techniques for dispersing fog from airport runways. Meredith Gourdine also created a generator that allowed for the cheaper transmission of electricity. He held more than 40 patents for various inventions.

Meredith Gourdine built a multi-million dollar corporation that is based on his ideas in the field of electrogasdynamics (EGD). Using the principles of EGD, Meredith Gourdine successfully converted natural gas to electricity for everyday use. Applications of EGD include refrigeration, desalination of sea water, and reducing the pollutants in smoke.

Meredith Gourdine served on the technical staff of the Ramo-Woolridge Corporation from 1957-58. He then became a Senior Research Scientist at the Caltech Jet Propulsion Laboratory from 1958-60. He became a Lab Director of the Plasmodyne Corporation from 1960-62 and Chief Scientist of the Curtiss-Wright Corporation from 1962 to 1964. In 1964, he served on the President’s Panel on Energy.

Meredith Gourdine established a research laboratory, Gourdine Laboratories, in Livingston, New Jersey, with a staff of over 150.

As an interesting side note, Meredith Gourdine won the silver medal in the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki for the long jump. Meredith Gourdine was also blind.

An employee of Madame Walker’s empire, Majorie Joyner, invented a permanent wave machine. This device, patented in 1928, curled or “permed” women’s hair for a relatively lengthy period of time. The wave machine was popular among women white and black allowing for longer-lasting wavy hair styles. Marjorie Joyner went on to become a prominent figure in Walker’s industry, though Majorie Joyner never profited directly from her invention, for it was the assigned property of the Walker Company.Marjorie Joyner was born in 1896 in the rural Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia and moved to Chicago to study cosmetology. Madam Walker was a Chicago business women who had come to fame as the beauty product supplier to Hollywood star Josephine Baker. Marjorie Stewart Joyner invented her wave machine as a solution to the hair problems of African American women, however, she never profited form her invention. Madame Walker owned the rights.

Marjorie Joyner became thee Director of Madame Walker’s beauty schools. Together with Mary Bethune Mcleod, Majorie Joyner founded the United Beauty School Owners and Teachers Association in 1945.

Marjorie Joyner also volunteered for several charities that helped house, educate, and find work for African Americans during the Great Depression.

— – — It’s Groundhog Day, and Punxsutawney Phil predicts an early spring. The Pennsylvanian did not see his shadow in Gobbler’s Knob this morning, according to the “Inner Circle” that runs the ceremony. No word yet from rivals Staten Island Chuck in New York, General Beauregard Lee in Atlanta, or Wiarton Willie in Wiarton, Ontario.

– – —-President Barack Obama and Afghan President Hamid Karzai announced an end to combat roles for U.S. troops in Afghanistan. CBS has video from the press conference.

“Coalition forces will move to a support role this Spring… Our troops will have a different mission: training, advising, assisting Afghan forces.”

Obama, flanked by Karzai, said the transition is being sped up from mid-year to this Spring because of gains made by Afghan security forces. Obama also said the goal of suppressing Al Qaeda is within reach. —

The U.S. Agriculture Department proposed the first broad standards for healthier school snacks on Friday. Under the rule, required by the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, most candy, sugar-filled sports drinks, and greasy foods would not be sold in school vending machines. Instead, they can offer snacks under 200 calories and low-calorie drinks.[….]

Now, if we could get Monsanto and it’s chemicals for genetically modified foods of our grain food supply, we could all slim down!

creolechild

Oregon Is The Only State Left That Hasn’t Imposed Any Restrictions On Abortion

Despite the fact that Roe v. Wade first legalized abortion four decades ago, anti-choice lawmakers have successfully chipped away at abortion rights on a state level. Wonkblog’s Sarah Kliff flagged a helpful visual, compiled by Remapping the Debate, to illustrate the recent flood of anti-abortion laws across the country (click to enlarge, or click here to see the interactive version). Five states have at least 20 different restrictions that obstruct women’s access to reproductive services, and Oregon is the sole state that doesn’t have a single piece of anti-choice legislation on the books:[….]

[….] Puri is part of a growing movement—the urban farmer. The 31-year-old co-founder and chief executive of Gotham Greens walks down the paths between his vegetables, which are neatly tucked into soil-less containers, as he describes the current varietals growing. His “farmland,” 15,000 square feet of rooftop greenhouse, yields roughly the same as a traditional 6-acre farm. Gotham grows 5 to 10 types of lettuce including red and green leaf, and baby butterhead lettuce, which it supplies to restaurants and high-end grocery stores in the New York metro area. “Since we have perfect weather year-round, we can always produce a consistent product,” he says.[….]

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today that the economy created 157,000 jobs last month. With significant upward revisions to previous months (including revising November up to nearly 250,000 jobs created), the jobs picture for 2012 is much clearer. Here’s where things stand:

1) 181,00 jobs per month were created in 2012.[….]
2) 2.17 million jobs were created in 2012.[….]
3) The so-called “fiscal cliff” didn’t create “uncertainty.”[….]
4) 74,000 government jobs were lost last year.[….]
5) 5.5 million lost jobs have been recovered.[….]
6) About 100,000 construction jobs were created in the last four months.[….]

Brominated vegetable oil, a synthetic chemical that has been patented in Europe as a flame retardant, will no longer double as an ingredient in Gatorade sports drinks. Molly Carter, a spokeswoman for Gatorade owner PepsiCo Inc., said the company has been considering the move for more than a year, working on a way to take out the ingredient without affecting the flavor of the drink.[….]

The reformulated Gatorade flavors “will start rolling out in the next few months,” Carter said. There’s no hard date for the launch because “we’re not recalling Gatorade,” she said. “We don’t think our products are unsafe. We don’t think there are health or safety risks.”[….]

– – – — –I don’t know who David Brooks is trying to convince with his article on immigration reform, but telling conservatives that our immigration policies should be based on Canada’s is probably about as compelling to them as an argument for basing our health care system on Sweden’s system. That doesn’t mean that he is wrong, though.

His conclusion, however, compels us to ask a question.

The second big conclusion is that if we can’t pass a [immigration] law this year, given the overwhelming strength of the evidence, then we really are a pathetic basket case of a nation.

The question is, if we cannot pass an immigration law this year despite the overwhelming strength of the argument in favor of reform, who will be responsible for that failure? Who is turning this nation into “a pathetic basket case”? And why does David Brooks insist on continuing to associate himself with the culprits? At what point does he look himself in the eye (presumably, using a mirror to do this) and say that he agrees with Jim Jeffords and Lincoln Chafee and Colin Powell and Lawrence Wilkerson and Chuck Hagel?
– – – -SNIP – – – –
— – Last week, Brooks called for the creation of a second Republican Party for people who don’t live in Jesusland, which caused me to say that he is as stupid as a boiled ham. If he wants a reasonable party that represents the broad center of political opinion in this country…a party that wants to do sensible immigration reform, he should join the Democratic Party. The only reason he doesn’t is because his career would crumble into irrelevance four seconds after he made the jump. — – -Oooooweee!! –:>)
THERE IS MORE.

nellcote

Brooks needs to either A:stay with the goopers and start naming names and get other moderates to take their party back or B: admit the only thing he disagrees with the teabaggers about is their “tone”.

Am I wrong to be enjoying “Skeetgate”? The redneck heads are exploding all over the country. Obama with a gun! I bet PBO has been practicing and there’s a video somewhere that he’s killin’ it in. LOL Next up, the confirmation of a black man leading Alcohol, Tobacco and FIREARMS. I wish my mama was alive to witness this. She would be hysterical with laughter.

nellcote

I think PBO meant “we” in the sense that skeet shooting is one of the activities available rather than that he’s a avid skeet hunter.

— –Exxon, Chevron Made $71 Billion Profit In 2012 As Consumers Paid Record Gas Prices – –
– – – —While 2012 might not be a banner year for Big Oil profits, it wasn’t a bad one either. With just BP left to announce 2012 earnings, Big Oil earned well over $100 billion in profits last year, while the companies benefit from continued taxpayer subsidies. Average gas prices also hit a record high last year, showing how a drilling boom may help oil companies’ profit margins, but not consumers’ wallets.

ExxonMobil — now the most valuable company in the world, passing Apple — earned $45 billion profit in 2012, a 9 percent jump over 2011. Meanwhile, Chevron earned $26.2 billion for the year. In the final three months of the year, the companies earned $9.95 billion and $7.2 billion respectively.

Here are the highlights of how Exxon and Chevron spend their earnings:

The company spent $12.97 million lobbying in 2012 to protect low tax rates and block pollution controls and safeguards for public health.

☻Chevron:
— In October, Chevron made the single-largest corporate donation in history. Chevron dropped $2.5 million with the Congressional Leadership Fund super PAC to elect House Republicans.

The bulk of Chevron’s federal contributions came from the super PAC donation, for a total of $3.87 million for the 2012 cycle. 85 percent went to Republicans.
THERE IS MORE

– – – -LET da BOYCOTTS — -CONTINUE annnd/or BEGIN!! — –

creolechild

Newly released California ‘three-strikers’ face new challenges

In an unforeseen consequence of easing the state’s tough Three Strikes Law, many inmates who have won early release are hitting the streets with up to only $200 in prison “gate money” and the clothes on their backs. These former lifers are not eligible for parole and thus will not get the guidance and services they need to help them succeed on the outside, such as access to employment opportunities, vocational training and drug rehabilitation.[….]

So far, none of three dozen or so strikers who have been resentenced since November or with the help of the Three Strikes Project before the election has been rearrested.[….] To reduce the risk, the same Stanford University Law School instructors who co-wrote Proposition 36 are now organizing a statewide effort to create re-entry plans for strikers using a combination of public and private services. They’re planning to meet with operators of homeless shelters and innovative transitional programs from around the state[….]

Citizens United To Supreme Court: Landmark School Desegregation Case Was Wrong

Citizens United, the conservative group that successfully sued to enable wealthy corporations to buy elections, also has it in for same-sex couples. Yet an amicus brief they recently filed in the Supreme Court backing the unconstitutional Defense of Marriage Act would not simply deny marriage equality to gay people, it calls upon the Supreme Court to toss out a landmark decision ending public school segregation in the District of Columbia and declare that the federal government is free to discriminate against minorities and women:[….]

I, too, sing America.
I am the darker brother.
They send me to eat in the kitchen
When company comes,
But I laugh,
And eat well,
And grow strong.
Tomorrow,
I’ll be at the table
When company comes.
Nobody’ll dare
Say to me,
“Eat in the kitchen,”
Then.
Besides,
They’ll see how beautiful I am
And be ashamed—
I, too, am America.

goldenstar

Didn’t know that Mr. Hughes’ birthday is the first day of Black History Month!

creolechild

New York City’s Public Hospitals Will Tie Doctors’ Pay To The Quality Of Care They Provide

In a move that could end up serving as a model for both private and public health care systems across the country, New York City’s public hospitals are poised to begin linking doctors’ paychecks to the quality of the care they provide patients, the New York Times reports.

Obamacare already attempts to shift the nation’s health care model towards one that rewards better care quality — rather than the volume of services provided — by tying safety net hospitals’ reimbursement rates to procedural benchmarks and patient satisfaction questionnaires. But elements of the yet-to-be-finalized NYC proposal would go even further than that, potentially tying physician groups’ salaries and bonuses to a variety of performance indicators in an effort to improve care quality and lower health care costs:[….]

I wonder whatever happened to Mr. Gourdine’s research lab and his corporation?

Marjorie Stewart Joyner invented her wave machine as a solution to the hair problems of African American women, however, she never profited form her invention. Madame Walker owned the rights.

Sounds like Madame Walker may have tricked Ms. Joyner into signing over the rights to the wave machine. I remember reading something about Walker stealing a hair pomade formula from someone else.

Miranda

That’s what all corporations do now…if you’re employed in any capacity of research and development (at tech firms especially)…what you invent, the corporation owns.

conlakappa

Something neat I found out while putting together a book for my husband’s family reunion was that an uncle had several patents while working at RJ Reynolds. This was decades ago so I think they were in his name. Corporations also have the hustle of getting federal money for R&D yet still owning the patents.

[….] The complaint, filed in district court in Tacoma, holds 10 of the bank’s officers personally responsible for $18 million of the $61 million that the FDIC had to pay out when the bank was closed. The claim is that the officers did not use diligence when granting loans, violating their own policies in the process.

[….] Several specific loans are cited, including one to Colorado and one to Utah, both of which are outside the normal lending area for the bank. Just these two loans, for residential developments in those states, added up to $8 million. According to the FDIC, the bank did not perform due diligence in researching the project, including neglecting to get appraisals.[….] But it gets worse… Townsend, the CEO of the bank, approved a risky loan without even clearing it through the loan committee. The amount was $3 million and was lent to a Senior Living Partnership in Pennsylvania. Way, way out of the lending area.[….]

– ——The White House has released a photo of President Obama skeet shooting at Camp David from August, 2012, attempting to quell a controversy that arose when Obama said that he sympathized with hunters because he frequently went shooting himself.

“Attn skeet birthers. Make our day – let the photoshop conspiracies begin!,” former White House advisor David Plouffe tweeted in a message containing a link to a photo of Obama brandishing a shot gun and wearing ear muffs and sun glasses.

Conservative critics questioned the veracity of the Obama’s claims of skeet shooting because he had never been seen publicly shooting a gun.
ENUFF! – – – – –geesh!! – —

A citizen’s group called Respect Arizona filed paperwork at the Maricopa County Elections Department on Wednesday to initiate a recall effort against Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio. The group would need to gather 335,317 signatures by May 30 of this year in order for the county to call a special election for the sheriff’s office.

Several Republican figures are at the center of the effort to recall Arpaio, who has been re-elected to his post six times since 1993.[….] Arpaio narrowly won re-election last November with 50.7 percent of the vote, after a strong voter registration campaign lead by Latinos took place countywide to oust him from office. His campaign war chest had over $8 million dollars, most of it coming from out of state. [….]

Anyone who’s taken a midsummer stroll through Manhattan might appreciate this. Light-colored, heat-reflecting asphalt and paint makes a parking lot cooler by 40 degrees Fahrenheit (22 degrees Celsius) on a hot day. The idea of painting city sidewalks, walls and roofs white isn’t new, but we happened to run into a nice demonstration of it recently. The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Northern California has painted one of its parking lots with several commercially available heat-reflecting coatings, to show what a difference they can make and to test how they’ll fare over time.[….]

—- –43 GOP Senators Threaten Obstruction Unless Consumer Protection Bureau Is Weakened – —
– – – – –When the Dodd-Frank financial reform law first passed, Senate Republicans refused to confirm a director for the newly-created Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. They promised to block any nominee — regardless of that nominee’s qualifications for the job — unless the Bureau was weakened and made subservient to the same bank regulators who failed to prevent the 2008 financial crisis.

President Obama was thus forced to recess appoint Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray to be the Bureau’s first director. Now that Obama has renewed Cordray’s nomination, the Senate GOP is again promising to block any nominee unless the Bureau is watered down:

In a letter sent to President Obama on Friday, 43 Republican senators committed to refusing approval of any nominee to head the consumer watchdog until the bureau underwent significant reform. Lawmakers signing on to the letter included Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), the ranking member of the Senate Banking Committee.
THERE IS MORE – – – — DRIVEL!! – – –SAME OLE! – — -SAME OLE!! – – –

If PBO sent homeland security to Chicago, the Sole Patrol would accuse him of acting like Bull Connor.

Miranda

Indeed. Let The Mayor impose a curfew of underage teens and see how much squealing and squawking you get.

Alma98

We have a curfew here and it works. A few exceptions of parents who don’t give a damn where their kids are.

QOakaJP

Homeland security is not gonna close the loopholes that allow illegal guns to continue to flow into Chicago, not will it change the attitudes of those who think this level of violence should just be accepted as the new norm.

Alma98

Really Jesse, really?

morphus

Unable to locate a link to back this up … will continue search … but … this isn’t first time Rev Jesse Jackson Sr called for draconian intervention in the Black community. In late 90’s or early 2000, Rev. Jackson supported a NIH study of black male teens behavior which concluded they couldn’t be “saved”. Anyone remembers this other than me?

So, I woke up and saw the photo of PBO skeet shooting, and it probably shouldn’t have affected me as much as it did…but it did, and I had to post a mini-rant over at TOD to let of some of my frustration, not so much at the WH, but just at what we have to still deal with in 2013:

To be honest, I’m just tired of the “Black person’s word is not good enough” syndrome that the public has, not only at historic levels with this president, but in general, throughout our history. And people have made careers out of portraying him as nothing more than a liar and fraud who cannot be trusted. Barack Obama graduates at the top of his class at Harvard, after editing the Law Review- and this is PUBLIC record, mind you- but it somehow becomes acceptable in the mainstream of politics to wonder and assume and accuse this man of being secretly dumb. A below-average slacker and/or trickster who only got into a good school because of affirmative action or other loopholes, and who is lying about his grades. Barack Obama tells you about his own life story in a book written long before he was on the national scene, but it takes multiple white authors penning Obama family bios, *confirming* what he already told you, for the public to take notice. The president tells you he was born in Hawaii, and his word is degraded to the point that legal and historical contracts are not enough to contain their hate. The president tells you what he did last week for fun, and he is roundly mocked…they demand photos to prove he did what he said he did in private, for leisure. What’s next…providing DNA test results to the public to prove he is the father of his own children? Maybe a sex tape to show that his happy married life is not just a sham. Or better yet, just have constant rolling footage from the residential quarters of the white house, so we can all know for sure that he works out in the morning, brushes his teeth twice a day, and doesn’t sneak in a second dessert (because revealing FLOTUS & her “Let’s Move” campaign as frauds is its own separate industry…)

Certain facets of American society have vested interest in making sure that they control the narrative of individuals, especially exceptional individuals who go against the status quo. Anything that they cannon craft, or grasp for themselves, had to be distorted. And we’re seeing it happen in real time. And in that sense, I understand why the WH decides to release certain information like this). BTW, this isn’t just something that can be blamed on “the right wing” or “conspiracy theorists”or “southern racists.” It is in our media and in the way many of us have conditioned ourselves not to trust certain people. And in the end, while we all know that PBO is in a damned if you do/damned if you don’t situation, I still can’t help but feel uncomfortable whenever they feel they are obliged to play along with these people that so clearly hate the man.

Miranda

I understand your frustration and I’m sure all of us here share it.

rikyrah

you speak so much truth

GreenLadyHere

HEEY QOakaJP. – – -***BIG — –“WHATCHU SAID- –HUG*** —-

— – – ***fist bump*** —2 da MAX!! – —

– -THIS – –>BTW, this isn’t just something that can be blamed on “the right wing” or “conspiracy theorists”or “southern racists.” It is in our media and in the way many of us have conditioned ourselves not to trust certain people. And in the end, while we all know that PBO is in a damned if you do/damned if you don’t situation, – –

This skeet shooting crap is one of the reason POCs voted for this man in record numbers. Every single one of us has felt that “extra set of eyes” on us when we enter a high-end department store or have a white teacher assume we cheated when we got a high score on a test.

PBO is doing a complicated, stressful, danger-filled (both literally and figuratively) job under eyes of the world with least 25% of them certifiably crazy.

—-Lt. Gov. Rick Sheehy issues resignation– —
– – – –Lt. Gov. Rick Sheehy resigned his post abruptly Saturday after questions were raised by The World-Herald about improper cell phone calls to four women, other than his wife, during the past four years.

An investigation by The World-Herald discovered that Sheehy made about 2,000 late-night telephone calls to the women on his state-issued cell phone, many of them long conversations held in the wee hours of the night.

Gov. Dave Heineman announced the resignation at a 10 a.m. press conference.

“I’ve got a knot in my stomach. I’m deeply disappointed. He’s done a lot of good things for the state, but that trust was broken, and he’s resigned,” Heineman said.
THERE IS MORE – —

— -STOOPID!!! — –>. . Sheehy made about 2,000 late-night telephone calls to the women on his state-issued cell phone, many of them long conversations held in the wee hours of the night. – —

Annnd — BEYOND DISRESPECTFUL 2 his wife!!! – – -geesh!!

Camille

Shameful. What is it with men and weak minds, silly fantasies, un-contained egos, unfastened zippers, lax morals and getting carried away with their own sense of importance, attractiveness, virility and invincibility?

But what does it also say about the women who play along, take these calls and are flattered by the attentions of a married man who not only see them as things on the side, but have to hide and sneak around to talk to them?

Miranda

Mayor hears what he assumes are gunshots, runs down the nearest black man.

They try to make a scandal out of everything PBO and his family does. I’m just sick of this double standard bs.

Camille

I’ve been so sick of the madness for far too long.

I just have no idea how the Obamas do it. How do they stay sane in the midst of all this worthless insanity.

Particularly Mrs Obama who foresaw and accurately called this madness even before they embarked on this journey.

She was very reluctant about participating in this endeavor and a political arena filled with less than noble players – and her many concerns have been more than validated.

It’s insane.

jds09

The contortions they are going thru are comical. Ummm….first he’s a liar (i.e. WaPo and Jon Stewart’s Dr. Suess bullshit I just watched over at hulu) then the pics come out and he needs more of them or none of them.

What I find fascinating about the WaPo piece is they can’t imagine PBO keeping his “powder dry” and not mentioning to everybody and their mother that he was been skeet shooting.

Note to the Beltway…PBO doesn’t give a Flying Fuck about what you think. More importantly, he’s modeling and teaching a whole generation of leaders not to give a Flying Fuck also.

MsKitty

When the The Onion comes off more and more as a credible news source, it might be time for a bit of self-reflection.

For years, the Newark, N.J., mayor has expertly managed his national image as big city superhero, burnished by made-for-Hollywood feats: rescuing a neighbor’s daughter from a burning building, saving a shivering dog from the bitter cold.

But since he started exploring a run for U.S. Senate in December, in the face of tougher media scrutiny that was bound to follow, Booker is showing the unmistakable symptoms of glass jaw syndrome.

He’s learning the hard way that a Senate race fought in multiple major media markets is different than a citywide one on his own turf. His sensitivity to perceived slights in news coverage is raising questions about how easily the high-flying mayor can make the transition from the mostly adoring national media coverage he’s received over the years and the friendly confines of his 1.3 million Twitter followers.

– –“Is he a show horse or a workhorse? Can he be both?” said Doug Muzzio, a Baruch College political science professor who lives in New Jersey.
THERE IS MORE. — — –

—-He BETTA – –GET –“srious”! — F’REAL!! – — geesh! – –

conlakappa

Soon they will be questioning that shivering dog. “Did the mayor throw water on you and then set you outside?”

—-Upon the passage of the 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution, which formally ended slavery, abolitionist lawyer John Swett Rock became the first African-American admitted to the bar of the United States Supreme Court on Feb. 1, 1865.

Rock was born free on October 13, 1825, in Salem, New Jersey. He was also an educator and later studied dentistry, graduating from the American Medical College in Philadelphia in 1852. He set up a practice in Boston, where many of his patients were escaped slaves fleeing to Canada through the Underground Railroad.

An outspoken abolitionist in Boston, Rock switched his focus to law and was admitted to the Massachusetts Bar in 1861. He served the U.S. Supreme Court for just one year before health problems derailed his career. On Dec. 3, 1866, at age 41, he died from tuberculosis. – —

– –Soooo – – -PROUD of U! :>) – – – -THANK U 4 YOUR participation —

—- -in “Da-STRUGGLE!” — -:>)

Guns3000

These Righties are so transparent it’s disgusting. Their predisposed response is always implies there is some malfeasance or a conspiracy from the White House.

Exhibit A “I haven’t seen his birth certificate. He must have been born out of the country”

Now this skeet shooting nonsense. The President said he skeet shoots. The Righties natural response is to strongly imply that the President is lying for political purposes. The White House releases a photo of him skeet shooting. They fall for the trap every single time. And these reporters are just as idiotic. Asking Jay Carney about skeet shooting.

PPSSssssstttt, did you know that Pres. Obama uses his left hand to sign stuff?

JojoRaze

PBO is prolly a G when it comes to skeet shooting-remember how he jacked that fly up. Watch PBO let this drama go on and then invite Wayne Lapierre skeet shooting-inviting the press, of course, and then kill it and embarrass folk. PBO wouldn’t have mentioned skeet-shooting unless he wanted to. Somebody is bout to get embarassed.

– —-☻Richard Wamai, an assistant professor of public health in the department of African American studies at Northeastern University in Boston, received the 2012 World AIDS Day Unsung Hero Award presented by Blood: Water Mission, a Nashville-based nonprofit organization that deals with AIDS and water issues in Africa. [KENYA] :>)

—- – – ☻Karen Jackson-Weaver, associate dean for academics and diversity at Princeton University in New Jersey, received the university’s Martin Luther King Day Journey Award for fostering a supportive environment which helps students succeed. She has been on the staff at Princeton since 2007. Previously, she served as executive director of the Amistad Commission which integrated African-American history into the K-12 curriculum in New Jersey’s public schools.

— – – -☻Howard Fuller, distinguished professor of education at Marquette University, received the Martin Luther King Jr. Heritage Award – from Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker. Professor Fuller is the founder and director of the Institute for the Transformation of Learning at Marquette. He is the former superintendent of the Milwaukee Public School system.
THERE IS MORE.

– – – -☻ 1962 – Eleven People Arrested After Sit-In
Seven whites and four Blacks arrested after all-night sit-in at Englewood, N.J., city hall. Four Black mothers arrested after sit-in at Chicago elementary school. Mothers later received suspended $50 fines. Protests, picketing and demonstrations continued for several weeks against de facto segregation, double shifts a…

Harry Belafonte challenges African-Americans at NAACP awards ceremony: ‘In the gun game, we are the most hunted’

excerpt
“In the gun game, we are the most hunted. The river of blood that washes the streets of our nation flows mostly from the bodies of our black children,” Belafonte said. “Where is the raised voice of black America? Why are we mute?”

The singer was being recognised for decades of political activism that have run alongside his entertainment career. Belafonte was a close confidant of Martin Luther King, and has remained a committed voice on issues of poverty and racism ever since King’s death.

Belafonte’s comments come at a time of impassioned argument over gun ownership in the US in the wake of the tragic Newtown school shooting at the end of last year. President Barack Obama has proposed a series of restrictions on gun laws, but faces stiff opposition from the powerful National Rifle Association and its allies in the Republican party and elsewhere.

He’s right. Back in the day, Black entertainers and athletes were more politically vocal than they are today. The Black church used to be Ground Zero for political activism. Some Black legislators have been in office for SEVERAL decades, but their districts are some the most dilapidated in the country.

isonprize

Some Black legislators have been in office for SEVERAL decades, but their districts are some the most dilapidated in the country.

But they stay in office and stay gettin’ paid.

Hopefully, folks working with local OFA groups (newly transformed into “Organizing for Action”) will make some changes in their own communities. Community Organizing in the truest sense of the words – not to elect a president but to organize the community in which you live!

GreenLadyHere

miranda – – – -it was good 2 C Me. Jamie Foxx – – -have his “come 2 Jesus moment” – – -as a RESULT of HEARING annnd seein’ those 2 —ICONS! :>) –
– Annnd he had IT in front of — HIS DAUGHTER — who he gave a –“SHOUT OUT 2”. — -BEAUTIFUL!! :>) – – –

Miranda

This is a living movie. So sad that this happened and I hope the killers are bought to justice soon.

Attorney: Slain Texas prosecutor feared for life, brought gun to work

(CNN) — The Texas prosecutor shot to death in broad daylight outside a courthouse had feared for his life and carried a gun to work, according to a Dallas attorney describing herself as his friend.

Colleen A. Dunbar told CNN that she spoke with Kaufman County Assistant District Attorney Mark Hasse on January 24, and he told her he began carrying a gun in and out of the county courthouse on a daily basis.

Hasse was gunned down in the parking lot while going to work Thursday. Investigators on Friday were reviewing his caseload for possible clues about what led to his killing.